Chapter Twenty-Five: Charles Augustus Milverton

*Sorry for not updating on Friday as originally planned! My younger sister graduated college so I spent the weekend celebrating that with her :) *

October 17th, 1879

London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

October 17th, 1879

MP WHITLEY'S ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION

An attempt at stopping the revision of the election bill or an act of terrorism?

Marie flipped the page down of the newspaper after scanning the column on Adam Whitley's attempted assassination. She handed the newspaper to Albert, who began to read it for himself. Finally, she settled into her seat and started breakfast.

Breakfast was quiet, with only the flipping of the newspaper to break the silence. However, it was a comfortable silence. Albert folded the newspaper and began his own meal, his hand straying to Marie's and linking their pinky fingers together. Since they had started courting, Albert had become more physically affectionate, not giving a damn about standards or what was considered proper. He did as he liked as long as he asked her first. He'd kiss her knuckles and wrap an arm around her waist if they stood close together.

Of course, Sebastian tried to tease them from time to time, making jokes about how disgusting the affection was. Marie commented that he was just upset he couldn't find someone to court and relied on one-night stands.

He shut up after that, and Albert had barked out a whole-hearted laugh that made his shoulders shake. He had kissed her on the cheek after her quip, delighting in how he always managed to make her blush.

Speaking of Albert… He stood up and brushed his hand against hers, murmuring something about needing to talk to William and Louis. She smiled at him,

"I have no appointments today; I'll be in the library." She replied, and he nodded, leaving her behind in the dining room.

The Moriarty Estate Library was something of a dream. Two floors and books lined every wall. Marie stood in front of a shelf on the second floor, running her fingers along the spines of the books with one hand and holding the skirts of her dress with the other.

The dress was light gray, with a white and dark green trim, long sleeves, and a high collar. Buttons lined the front of the dress, the bustle was small, and her gloves were dark green, almost black. It had been a gift from Nessie for her birthday. Bond's dress had been too elaborate for everyday wear, so she had opted for this one.

Marie pulled a thick medical journal on poisons off the shelf and made her way to the plush wingback chair before a fireplace. It was unlit, with the curtains open and light streaming through the windows. She settled into the chair, flipped the book open to the first page, and began reading.

It was nice with things so peaceful.

She should have known it was going to come to an end soon.

October 19th, 1879

London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

A frantic knocking on the library's doors drew Marie from her reading haze. She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes with her crooked fingers. She had shed her gloves after it became apparent they were just going to get in the way of her reading. Marie had spent the last two days in the library researching a new poison she had heard about from one of William's informants.

Just as she slid her gloves back on, the library doors opened, and Fred entered, looking vaguely frazzled and clutching the daily newspaper in both hands.

"Fred? What's the matter?" She asked, and he handed her the paper,

"Read the front page."

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

October 19th, 1879

MP WHITLEY HAS BEEN MURDERED!

Marie frowned; she had liked MP Whiteley, what he stood for, his values. He seemed like a good man from what Albert had said. She had gone with him to the opening of the park, spoken with Whiteley, and seen why he had changed the park's plans to allow for more accessibility for the disabled. He seemed nice enough.

Her eyes strayed to the following line of the newspaper, and she stared in astonishment.

The "Lord of Crime" is the culprit!

Had William murdered Whiteley? That couldn't be… She looked at Fred with wide eyes.

"He wouldn't murder someone innocent, right?" She asked in a quiet voice, and Fred shrugged,

"I don't know anymore." He replied, sounding sad and all too young for his age. She had to refrain from gathering him in a hug and holding him tight. Now wasn't the time for that.

"Where is William?" She inquired, and Fred gestured with a hand out of the library. Marie was already out the doors by the time Fred spoke again.

"In his study."

Marie didn't bother knocking on the door to William's study. Instead, she flung the door open and stalked inside, throwing the newspaper on his desk and folding her arms across her chest.

"You killed him." She said curtly, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Albert was in the study as well, nursing a cup of tea and looking all too pleased with the outcome of the paper.

William steepled his fingers and sat back in his chair.

"I did. Do you have a problem with that?" He inquired in that tone of voice that grated on Marie's nerves. She ground her teeth and jabbed a finger at the newspaper.

"Damn right I do! You killed an innocent man! I thought you were better than that." She snapped, and William smiled that insufferable grin of his.

"He murdered the man who killed his family. He is not innocent. And he agreed to this plan anyway. He was killed to be preserved as the Knight for Equality of the People. It was to turn the people against the Lord of Crime." He said, but Marie didn't miss a beat.

"So you manipulated a man in mourning into your plan! This goes against everything we stand for! I thought we only killed corrupt nobles!" She accused, pointing a finger at William's chest. If he were any closer, she would have poked him, however, he was too far away for that. She settled for crossing her arms angrily over her chest and watching the blond for any signs of emotion.

William had schooled his face into a cool calm, not giving anything away as to what he was thinking.

"I assure you he did all of this of his own free will. True, he was distraught, but he kept his wits about him and agreed to our plan."

Maire was still fuming, but she had run out of words to say. She turned to leave when Albert set a hand on her shoulder,

"Marie—" She shrugged it off and jabbed a finger into his chest.

"Don't talk to me. I'm mad at you for agreeing to this." She said and left the room with a swish of her skirts

Even as she made it back to her room, Marie was still upset. Her temper was sky high, and she knew that anyone who talked to her next would receive a verbal lashing.

It was better for her to take a nap and sleep it off. So that's what she planned on doing. However, the moment she opened the doors to her bedroom, she knew something was wrong. Her temper fizzled out as she realized just what she was looking at.

Someone had destroyed her room.

Her bedsheets had been torn off and mangled on the floor. Her desk had been upheaved and lay on its side. The chair was thrown across the room. The curtains looked to be shredded by a knife, and papers were strewn everywhere.

Something was missing. She just knew it.

But that didn't matter. What mattered was who had done this?

"Marie I—" Albert came up behind her, hand straying to hers uncertainly but stopped when he spotted the carnage. She could feel him stiffen as he took in what had happened. Marie, however, stepped inside the chaos. Her movements were almost puppet-like, jerky, and uncoordinated as she tried to make sense of what had happened.

Had it been an old client? No… all her clients had been supremely grateful for what she had done. And she left little to no witnesses to her preparing her poisons. Only the Moriarty's group had truly seen her work and mix different concoctions for her clients.

Maybe someone to get at Albert? That didn't seem likely. They hadn't even gone public with their courtship yet. Plus, it wasn't common knowledge that she lived at the Moriarty estate.

Suddenly she went cold as she realized just what was missing. She was on her knees by the desk and turned to see Albert entering the room with William and Louis.

"Marie? What's the matter? You're as pale as a ghost!" Albert was at her side in an instant, helping her to her feet and cradling her shaking hands.

"My ledger… with all my client's names…." She began, turning to look Albert in the eye as her shoulders began to shake. "It's gone!"

Albert sat next to Marie, who also sat in a chair in William's office, a hand on her shoulder. William stood at the window looking out into the gardens, hands clasped behind his back. It was dark outside, the outdoors lit only by lamps. Marie was still shaking, fingers laced as she stared at her skirts.

Her ledger was gone. The one book that held all the evidence that she murdered corrupt and abusive people was stolen. But not everyone would see it like that. They would just see her as a murderer, and she would be tried and hanged.

"This is a predicament." William mused as he turned away from the window and walked towards Marie. He sat down across from her as Albert took the seat next to her and held her hand gently. She intertwined their fingers immediately, all anger about earlier that morning forgotten. She could worry about that another time. The biggest issue right now would be getting her ledger back.

"Who do you think has done this?" She asked, voice cracking. Albert squeezed her hand as William leaned forward and rested his mouth on his steepled fingertips.

"In my mind, there is only one person who could have done this." He said, and she sat forward in her seat, anxious to hear the blond's following words. William's eyes darkened as he opened his mouth to speak again.

"I think the man responsible is Charles Augustus Milverton."